Provided is an optically anisotropic layer with which an image display device having suppressed occurrence of oblique light leakage can be manufactured; and an optical film, a polarizing plate, and an image display device, each having the optically anisotropic layer. The optically anisotropic layer is obtained by curing a polymerizable liquid crystal composition including a predetermined rod-like liquid crystal compound and a predetermined monofunctional compound, and immobilizing an alignment state of the rod-like liquid crystal compound, in which a number a1 of atoms of the rod-like liquid crystal compound and a number a2 of atoms of the monofunctional compound satisfy a relationship of Expression (1): 0.2<a2/a1≤0.68, and the rod-like liquid crystal compound is immobilized in a state of being vertically aligned with respect to the main surface of the optically anisotropic layer.

[Object] An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal composition containing a polymerizable compound for use in the manufacture of a PSA or PSVA liquid crystal display device. The polymerizable compound has a sufficiently high polymerization rate. The PSA or PSVA liquid crystal display device has few or no display defects due to a change in pretilt angle, has an adequate pretilt angle, and has high responsiveness. The present invention also provides a liquid crystal display device having the liquid crystal composition. [Solution] The object is achieved by using a liquid crystal composition containing one or two or more polymerizable compounds represented by the general formula (I).

The invention relates to a light modulation element comprising a cholesteric liquid crystalline medium sandwiched between two substrates (1), provided with a common electrode structure (2) and a driving electrode structure (3) individually, wherein the substrate with driving and/or common electrode structure is additionally provided with an alignment electrode structure (4) which is separated from the driving and or common electrode structure on the same substrate by a dielectric layer (5), characterized in that it comprises at least one alignment layer (6) directly adjacent to the liquid crystalline medium. The invention is further related to a method of production of said light modulation element and to the use of said light modulation element in various types of optical and electro-optical devices, such as electro-optical displays, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), non-linear optic (NLO) devices, and optical information storage devices.

A liquid crystal composition for a display device, the composition includes compounds of Chemical Formulae 1-7 with the amounts and compounds defined herein.

Disclosed are a liquid crystal (LC) composition and a high-frequency component including the same. The LC composition includes one or more selected from compounds shown in structural formula (I) and one or more selected from compounds shown in structural formula (II):

##STR00001## where R.sub.1 is selected from alkyl with 1 to 10 carbon atoms, alkenyl with 2 to 10 carbon atoms, fluorinated alkyl, fluorinated alkenyl, and cycloalkyl; one of X.sub.1, X.sub.2, and X.sub.3 is methyl or chlorine, and the other two are hydrogen; k, m, n, and p are 0 or 1; and ring A is selected from a benzene ring, cyclohexane, and cyclohexene;

##STR00002##

where R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 each are selected from alkyl with 1 to 10 carbon atoms, alkenyl with 2 to 10 carbon atoms, fluorinated alkyl, fluorinated alkenyl, cycloalkyl, halogen, and NCS; and ring A and ring B each are selected from a benzene ring, cyclohexane, and cyclohexene.

The present invention relates to azo dye of formula I ##STR00001##
defined in claim 1, to a liquid crystalline medium comprising said azo dye, the use of said medium for optical, electrooptical and electronic purposes, in particular in devices for regulating the passage of energy from an outside space into an inside space, for example in windows. The invention further relates to a device containing the liquid crystalline medium according to the invention.

A liquid crystal composition, a liquid crystal display element and a liquid crystal display comprising the liquid crystal composition belong to the field of liquid crystal display. The liquid crystal composition comprises a compound represented by formula I with a mass content of 1-10% as the first component, a compound represented by formula II with a mass content of 1-20% as the second component, more than two compounds represented by formula III as the third component, more than three compounds represented by formula IV as the fourth component, and one or more polymerizable compounds as the fifth component, the crystal composition has low rotational viscosity and low γ.sub.1/K.sub.33 on the basis of maintaining appropriate optical anisotropy. When applied to liquid crystal display elements or liquid crystal displays, the liquid crystal display has a fast response speed. ##STR00001##

Provided is a liquid crystal display device that can achieve prevention of a decrease in the VHR and can achieve an increase in the response speed. A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel that includes a liquid crystal layer containing a liquid crystal composition; and a light source that emits light on the liquid crystal panel, the liquid crystal composition containing at least one of a first liquid crystal compound containing a phenyl group and a conjugated bond group that forms a conjugated system continuous with the phenyl group and a second liquid crystal compound containing an alkenyl group not forming a conjugated system, the light source emitting green light having a half width of less than 50 nm.

To prevent arcing discharge of a liquid crystal device. Provided is a liquid crystal device including a liquid crystal layer, a first substrate, a second substrate and an insulating film, wherein the liquid crystal layer is arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, the first substrate includes electrode 1, the second substrate includes electrode 2, the insulating film is arranged between electrode 1 and electrode 2, and the insulating film is a cured product of a thermosetting polymer composition.

Disclosed are a polymer-stabilized liquid crystal composition and the use thereof. The composition comprises one or two polymerizable compounds represented by general formula I: (I), and further comprises a negative dielectric anisotropy liquid crystal composition, wherein the negative dielectric anisotropy liquid crystal composition has a dielectric anisotropy of Δε≤−1.5; and the added amount of the polymerizable compound(s) represented by general formula I is 0.1-0.5% of the total mass of the negative dielectric anisotropy liquid crystal composition. A polymer film formed after the polymerization of the provided liquid crystal composition containing the polymerizable compound(s) has a very good uniformity, such that the problem of liquid crystal displays having poor display can be improved. Moreover, an alignment film formed after the polymerization of the polymerizable liquid crystal composition has an excellent alignment force, and can improve residual image problems caused by an insufficient alignment force in a PSVA liquid crystal display. The provided liquid crystal composition containing the polymerizable compound(s) can realize an adjustable response speed, and can in turn meet the requirements of different technical process conditions.

##STR00001##